Wealthy Iranians Poised to Spend Billions on Property Around the World

As stringent sanctions are lifted, wealthy Iranians could spend as much as $8.5 billion on property around the world in the next decade.

London-based real estate consultancy Rokstone has already seen an uplift in inquiries from Iranians, and believes investment will be focused on London, Dubai, Switzerland, Germany and the south of France.

New World Wealth estimates there are some 32,000 high-net-worth Iranians worth more than $2.8 million, including 65 families worth over $99 million and four billionaires. Of these, Rokstone predicts that between 1,000 and 1,500 high-net-worth individuals and companies will look to invest in overseas real estate over the next three to five years. Up to 50 of these have the finances to spend up to $140 million apiece.

Up to $8.5 billion could be invested over the next five to 10 years, with prime real estate playing an important role.

Global sanctions against Iran were lifted in January, but not everyone is convinced this will remain the case. Most Iranians view this as a limited opportunity to get money out of the country—further incentivizing overseas investment, according to Rokstone.

At the same time, with significant instability in neighboring Iran and Syria and the low and falling price of oil and gas, the opportunity to invest in far removed, stable countries is appealing. Europe, in particular, is expected to attract these dollars.

In fact, Becky Fatemi, managing director of Rokstone, argues that London will be the Iranians’ top choice for real-estate investment due to deep historical ties between the U.K. and Iran.

“Britain was the colonial power in Iran, and it was British firms that first exploited Iran’s oil reserves. Between 1945 and 1979, the Shah of Iran, his Royal court and the business elite had lots of ties with Britain, and the elite owned luxury residential property in London and the home counties,“ she said.

Wealthy Iranians also invested in New York and Los Angeles, she noted, but these markets are not currently available due to U.S. government sanctions. Dubai is also a logical choice due to its proximity and prestige, but the city “cannot compete with London’s educational system or cool summer climate.”

Germany, France and Switzerland are also expected to be on the Iranians’ radar but, Fatemi said, “London is safer than these since a lot of properties in the capital are in conservation areas where building alterations are restricted…Values hold and outperform continental Europe.”